Banana boats are somewhere between a banana split and a dump cake. They're perfect for families with kids. Parents just cut open the banana. Kids can go crazy, filling it with all kinds of toppings–like mini-marshmallows, chocolate chips, hazelnut spread, and peanuts.

They cook in the campfire coals for a few minutes and turn into gooey messes that kids will love to eat. This banana boat recipe breaks down the essential elements of a perfect campfire dessert into something that melts, something that’s sweet, and something crunchy.

Nowhere does it say camp dessert has to be basic, or plain. There’s nothing more festive than an upside-down pineapple cake.

They're easy to make over the campfire with a little aluminum foil. You can become the envy of the campground with shortcake shells, pineapple rings, and maraschino cherries.

Not just for French bakeries anymore, eclairs are one of our favorite camping desserts. But if we’re honest, they sometimes appear at our campfire as a brunch item too.

They’re so easy and delicious we bet you’ll find excuses to make them too, even if it requires camping in the backyard. This recipe uses vanilla pudding for the filling, but try whipped cream if you’re looking for a “lighter” version for brunch.

Ever since we discovered "walking tacos" life hasn’t been the same. This camping dessert has the same premise–messy, delicious food that’s easy to eat. Especially when a placemat and table setting is out of the question.

Campfire cones are also a low-key post-dinner camping activity with kids because they get to pick everything that goes into their waffle cone. The recipe doesn’t call for a bunch of specialty ingredients–marshmallows, chocolate, and fruit are all you need. Add a swirl of whipped cream on top for “ice cream.”

Whoever invented dessert nachos deserves a moment in their honor. Short of public recognition, the best we can do is make them as often as possible, even while camping.

Make the cinnamon-sugar tortilla chips ahead of time, and it takes just a few minutes to heat gooey sweet nachos on your camp stove or grill over the campfire.

Any variation of cinnamon rolls is one of the desserts for camping that works just as well for brunch. Nothing goes better with bacon than a sweet pastry or two.

If crescent roll dough isn’t already part of your campfire cooking arsenal, it should be. With a few (dozen) cans of dough, you can make easy recipes for every meal, including camping desserts. Don’t forget to roll the dough in cinnamon and sugar and give it a liberal icing drizzle.

Depending on the season, you can stop by an orchard for fresh-picked apples before heading to the campground. Or make the apple packets at home and pack them in the cooler for an easy campfire dessert.

Throw the packages into the coals of your campfire and wait 10 minutes for a sweet, crunchy apple tart dessert.

Not sure what a woof’em is? That’s okay, it’s about to become one of your all-time favorite campfire desserts. They’re a hollowed-out biscuit, filled with pudding, peanut butter spread, Nutella, and topped with whipped cream.

You can follow the recipe instructions for making dedicated woof’em roasters, or just use a pie iron you already have for this campfire dessert. Bring a few cans of pie filling, and you can make easy campfire tarts with a savory crust using the same recipe.

You can cook this campfire dessert at home over the stovetop, but we promise it tastes better in the great outdoors. It also requires ingredients that are already in your outdoor kitchen pantry, like white bread and pie filling.

If you don’t feel like heating a cast-iron skillet, grab your pie iron, and everyone can cook their own right in the campfire coals.

If it’s late summer, you might be lucky enough to pass a fruit stand while heading out of town. Grab some peaches to throw together these foil peach packs for a sweet and crunchy dessert that’ll highlight your camping trip.

If you feel like topping the crumble with ice cream, make the packs ahead of time, and you can cook this dessert your first night under the stars.

You may have quite a few empty cans at the campsite by the end of your camping trip. Good news, you can repurpose them–once they’re clean–into vessels for individual campfire desserts for the entire family.

Use up leftover dessert ingredients to make melted puppy chow or deconstructed s’mores. Try peanut butter, chocolate, marshmallow, pie filling, and graham crackers.

Brownies are always good. And for camping desserts, there’s nothing better. For one, no one expects fudgy baked brownies while they’re “roughing” it. You can make these in a cast iron pan.

We recommend you bring some brownie mix to simplify things. There’s no need to whip together butter and sugar by hand when you’d rather be kayaking, hiking, or relaxing in a hammock at your campsite.

Want a grown-up’s only version of s’mores? Here’s one we just love. It’s one of those campfire desserts that makes so much sense once someone tells you about it, but you never would have thought of on your own.

Take a toasted marshmallow and dip it in Irish cream for a slightly boozy and sweet treat.

Wondering what do to with all those leftover orange peels after making fresh-squeezed orange juice at the campsite? We love this creative take on a classic campfire dessert. It’s a cute way to make individual serving cinnamon rolls without making a mess of a cast iron pan.

This technique adds subtle orange flavor to the rolls for a citrus twist on an old favorite. You can get creative and bake muffins, cupcakes, and individual brownies with the same technique.

If there’s anything worth packing out cooking oil from a campsite, it’s these campfire donuts. With a healthy sprinkle of cinnamon and sugar, you can transform fried biscuit dough into unbeatable dessert donuts.

Prep and cook time amounts to less than 10 minutes. You can also get creative with the donut toppings–try powdered sugar, cocoa powder, or Nutella and sprinkles.

For a healthier (and easier) version of campfire apple pie, try these baked apples. They’re easy to make, can be gluten-free, and are a decadent low-sugar dessert.

Just make the filling at home and pack it in a cooler in a ziplock bag. You can add granola, cookie crumbles, or even a caramel drizzle for kids who don’t get excited about raisins for dessert.

We love monkey bread anytime, anywhere, but it just tastes better when it’s cooked in a campfire. If you’ve never made it before, get ready for a new favorite in your campfire desserts repertoire.

You need a Dutch oven to bake the bread, but it’s easy to cut up some prepared dough and toss in cinnamon and sugar. It’s the perfect camping dessert to bring people together.

They had us at hand pies. This campfire dessert is not only delicious but super cute. The recipe calls for frying them in a cast-iron pan or a Dutch oven, but you can also break out your pie iron and cook these in your campfire coals using a pre-made crust.

Try different fillings for the interior if you’re not a cherry fan. They're delicious with peach, blueberry, or even pudding filling.

After this list of dessert recipes, it should be clear that a Dutch oven is an essential piece of car camping equipment. You can cook almost anything in it, including a chocolate cake.

Imagine how impressed your camp companions will be when you whip out an entire chocolate cake when they were just expecting s’mores!

Pineapple combined with cinnamon and crystallized ginger just tastes better when cooked over a campfire.

Once the pineapple is tender, you mix it with berries and spoon the whole mess over individual shortcakes, or biscuits. Top it with a dollop of whipped cream for a perfect summer dessert.

Make this for dessert, and we guarantee your campsite companions will snack on it the entire next day. You pack the Dutch oven in coals from the campfire, and in minutes you’ll have perfectly browned peach cobbler.

Get the dough ready at home to make your life easier at the campground. And if you’re able, pick up some local peaches on your way to the campsite for a great late-summer campfire dessert.